‘有千年池厝渡，无百年郑大进’

‘有千年池厝渡，无百年郑大进’ is a Teochew proverb,the literal meaning is that a village can be passed down for thousands of years, while a person’s lifespan is at most a hundred years.

This saying is often used to advise neighbors to get along harmoniously and not to haggle over trivial matters. It is also widely used to advise people to be tolerant and generous.

‘有’ means exist.’千年’ means thousands of years.’池厝渡’ is a name of a Teochew village.’无’ means no or can not.’百年’ means hundreds of years.’郑大进’ is a Teochew Predecessors.

To practice speaking this sentence in Teochew dialect,follow the audio below:

Who is Zheng Dajin?

Born in the renaissance after war

Teochew was in a state of war in the early Qing Dynasty.

It was not until the 19th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign that Zheng Chenggong’s son Zheng Jing’s forces completely withdrew from Teochew. The last armed force was Qiu Hui from Chaoyang who withdrew from Dahao, which he had occupied for a year, to Taiwan.

Liu Jinzhong’s struggle with the Three Feudatories to rebel against the Qing Dynasty also ended in the 21st year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1682) and was executed in Beijing.

In the 23rd year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign, Zheng Keshuang of Taiwan finally surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. At this time, the sea ban was lifted, the customs was restored, and the agricultural, fishery and salt production were newly developed.

A capable and practical man

The people of Teochew lived a stable life, and new talents gradually emerged. Among them, the more outstanding one was Zheng Dajin from Jieyang (a county of Teochew).

Zheng Dajin was a talented, economically minded and reform-minded practical man during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty.

When he served in various places, he did a lot of work that was conducive to production development and social stability.

Successive official positions

In the ninth year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1744), he was summoned to Beijing for election.

He was initially appointed as the magistrate of Feixiang County, Zhili. Successive positions:

• Tongzhi of Daming Prefecture and Hejian Prefecture
• Zhengding Prefecture
• Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner
• Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner
• Governor of Guizhou
• Governor of Henan and Hubei and concurrently Governor-General of Huguang
• Finally, he was promoted to Governor-General of Zhili.

During his tenure, he eliminated malpractices, cared about people’s livelihood, and made great achievements.

Later, he was awarded the title of Prince’s Junior Tutor.

Not relying on power, advocating harmony with neighbors

Although Zheng Dajin was a high-ranking official with great power.

He not only did not rely on his power to bully others, but also taught his family and clansmen to be friendly and good neighbors to maintain good relations for generations.

His hometown is Shanwei Village, Meigang, Jieyang (a county of Teochew). The neighboring village is Chicuodu.

Chicuodu is a large village that used to suppress Shanwei Village. After Zheng Dajin became an official, some villagers demanded revenge by taking advantage of their power.

But Zheng Dajin said very clearly: “‘有千年池厝渡，无百年郑大进'(Means:There is Chicuodu for a thousand years, but there is no Zheng Dajin for a hundred years).”

This means that there is no need for neighboring villages to bully the weak. Villages would live together for a long time.

If become strong for a while and attack the weak,another day they lose power, they will be retaliated.

This is only a disaster for their descendants. He emphasized good neighborliness and unity, and people admired him very much. This noble style is still a good story.